Horseshoe Lake bream best is toppled

The bream record at one of the UK’s most famous big-fish waters has been smashed with a 16lb 6oz specimen.

Horseshoe Lake in Gloucestershire is better known for its large carp, rudd and tench – and hasn’t produced a single slab in over four years - so all-rounder Andrew Grimshaw was certainly surprised when he banked the new personal best for the species.

Concentrating his efforts on a clear spot in the weed at 35 yards range, he cast 12mm Baitworks Monster Red hookbaits over the top of a spod mix laced with maggots. It was the addition of these grubs that the Brighton-based rod is convinced attracted the attentions of the historic specimen.

It was the highlight of a prolific four-day session on the Carp Society owned venue, which also produced 25 carp to a best of 28lb. All of his fish were beaten with rigs constructed from 10lb braided hooklinks and size 10 hooks.

“This incredible fish is one of the best I’ve ever caught and I reckon it must be 25-years-old,” Andrew told Angling Times.

“Many carp anglers see this species as a nuisance, but I’ve been an all-rounder for more than four decades and I’m truly delighted . The fact that it is such a rare specimen for this lake makes the capture even more special.”

Elsewhere, Tim Gulliver got in on the big bream action when he banked a trio of double figure fish from a midlands reservoir topped off with an impressive 15lb 2oz specimen.
He kicked off his session with the introduction of a bed of mixed particles and ellipse pellets from Blakes Baits then cast lobworm hookbaits over the top.

The Daventry-based rod’s catch - which also included bream weighing 12lb 8oz, 11lb and 8lb - was taken from a gap between two weed beds at 80 yards range.

“The weed here is really thick so I’ve been using lead clip systems that drop the weight as soon as a fish is hooked. This is vital because I’ve lost big fish in the weed due to the lead getting snagged up in the past,” said Tim, who used 15lb Drennan Strip Teaze hooklinks attached to size 12 Gardner hooks.



England ladies - World number 1

England can add yet more gold to its international angling cabinet after the Angling Trust England Ladies team returned from Slovenia as world champions following a rousing Day 2 comeback that saw them catapult from eighth to top spot on the River Sava around Radece.

The team, made up of Julie Abbott, Emma Pickering, Samantha Sim, Helen Dagnall and Jeanette Halliday and managed by Dave Brooks Jnr and Joe Roberts racked up 18 points on the second day of action to 'absolutely smash it' in the world of Joe and take gold ahead of Croatia with a 56 point tally.

"After Day 1 we were 12 points adrift but it was still tight and we fancied it," Joe said. "We altered the groundbait mix, cutting down on the levels on activity that had brought too many small fish into the pegs on the first day and this worked a treat. All of the girls had 10 kilos on Day 2 and we won it by a mile!"

Top performer individually was Helen Dagnall with five points but incredibly England didn't score a section win over the whole weekend and still took gold, catching mainly vimba, small roach and the odd barbel on bunches of maggot fished on proper tackle and feeding their full 17 litre groundbait allowance on each day.


Barge sells anglers' kit

Anglers across the midlands now have the option to buy fishing tackle in a unique way following the opening of the UK’s first ever floating tackle shop.

The Tackle Boat, which is simply a converted canal barge selling numerous items from rods and reels to hooks and line, has been operating since the start of the year on stretches of the Grand Union Canal between Marsworth in Buckinghamshire, up to Braunston in Northamptonshire.

The barge, named Le Souk, is the original idea of Mark Thame, a 54-year old angler and waterways fanatic from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, who had to sacrifice a large chunk of his home to bring his dream to fruition. “I live aboard the boat with my wife and originally came up with the idea because there is nowhere for visiting anglers or boaters to buy odd items of tackle from, so we took out one of the cabins and used it for storage,” he said. “Our market is people who may not necessarily be hard-core anglers but those on trips who just want to give it a go or maybe for those who get to the bank and find they have forgotten a particular item.”

The boat is currently touring the Northampton area but will rove about the canal system during the summer months. Each item of tackle has been carefully selected with anglers on a budget in mind and everything is displayed on a number of racks which simply attach to the side of the boat when it is moored on the towpath. “We don’t stock expensive tackle as we want to stay affordable to everyone. We know our market won’t want to spend a fortune on gear as we sell on the bank not over the internet to people paying with credit cards” said Mark. “We tend to set up in areas where there are plenty of tourists or at canal boat shows and fetes and we have to move around as the Canal & River Trust rules only allow two trading boats in any one area at one time,” he added.

The Tackle Boat does not sell live bait due to lack of refrigeration facilities, however it does offer groundbait as well as items such as pole rigs, terminal tackle and luggage.

Anyone interested in visiting or finding out the boats location can do so by clicking on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/thetackleboat or emailing: thetackleboat@hotmail.co.uk


'Drop-shotting' proves downfall for big perch

If you're targeting big river perch the popular ‘drop shotting’ method is hard to beat - as proved by James Stevens when he slipped the net under this huge specimen.

He struck gold when he targeted a local stretch of river and worked his lure close to a moored boat situated on the far bank of the waterway.

Unfortunately the Hertfordshire-based rod’s scales were faulty so he and his good friend and fellow all-rounder Dan Sales estimated the fish to weigh around the 4lb mark.

The impressive predator was beaten with 15lb braid and he also managed to fool two smaller perch, while Dan banked a chub and a brown trout, both over the 4lb mark.


Month of baiting pays off on style

John Waller potted a brace of 30s off a snooker-table-sized clear spot at a tricky park lake.

The Chatham rod tempted mirrors of 39lb 8oz, 36lb 2oz and 24lb during a 48-hour session on the Kent venue.

The successful spot had previously been covered by a layer of silt, but John introduced 5kg of Dynamite Crave boilies four days before his trip and baited with an additional 13kg during his session and the fish responded by leaving the area spotless.

The 39-year-old said: “I’ve been baiting the area for about a month and when I got there I cast a bare lead about and the clear spot was about the size of a snooker table and just as hard.”

The spot, about 60 yards out, produced the first fish of the session in the shape of the 36lb 2oz mirror at 11.30am on the second day, followed by the largest fish the following morning at about 9am. A 24-pounder rounded off the action three hours later.

“It’s fished very hard this year and I think two fish in 72 hours has been the best session on there this season so to have three in 48 hours isn’t bad,” said John.

John used mixed sizes of Crave boilies on snowman rigs comprised of 25lb Rigmarole Skinfull and size six ACE Continental Xtra Strong hooks.


Two 30lb carp from Suffolk Water Park in one session

Dan Lancaster managed a new personal best during a week-long session that produced two 30-pounders.

The 36-year-old targeted a corner swim at Suffolk Water Park’s main lake and banked the fish known as ‘4.3’ at 36lb 12oz and an unknown mirror at 30lb 10oz.

Both fish came to marginal features, as the Ipswich handyman explained: “I fished a corner swim as I saw a few fish in there when I arrived. My spots were at very short range, about 30 yards out on two clear areas just off two sets of lily pads.”

Dan baited with a “couple of handfuls of pellets and boilies” around each hookbait, but had to wait two nights for the fish to arrive.

He said: “The 36-pounder was a very hectic fight, and it felt like a big weight. The other 30 weeded me up for about 10 minutes.

“I’ve fished here quite a bit but the 36lb 10oz fish is the best I’ve had from the lake and a new personal best.”


New Angling Times Issue 3123 out now!

In this week’s Angling Times, we’ve exclusive coverage of UK matchfishing’s most valuable event, the Maver Mega Match This Final, after which one angler walked away with a £50,000 prize. There’s also news of an enormous bream and a massive hit of River Trent barbel, along with expert advice from regular star columnists Steve Ringer, Martin Bowler, Dave Harrell and Paul Garner. We’ve also got all the weekend’s match results, a huge Carp News section and brilliant tackle reviews. Angling Times is Britain’s No.1 fishing weekly – out on the iPad every Monday, in the shops every Tuesday.


Killer shark is prowling in UK waters

Angling Times can this week reveal that the world’s most dangerous shark is swimming in UK waters.

The deadly oceanic white tip shark is known for its fearsome nature and reported attacks on humans, and experts have now confirmed its presence in British seas.

The news comes after experienced fisherman Nigel Hodge watched in horror as a large shark – that he described as "greyish in colour and about 10ft long" - snatched a smaller blue shark of around 60lb which he was reeling in while fishing off the Cornish coast.

The 43-year-old was positioned around 25 miles off Falmouth aboard his own boat, Wave Chieften, when the predator struck. “If you were a carp angler it would be like reeling in a specimen fish and it getting snatched by a crocodile,” he said. “I played it for a while before pulling it alongside my boat where I got a good look at it before it broke free. I managed to pull the smaller fish aboard and took photos so we could find out what had attacked it.”

Speculation was soon rife as to what shark was involved in the attack with some people suggesting the possibility of a great white, while others believed it to be a larger blue shark. Experts from the US and UK, however, have since confirmed that an oceanic white tip was responsible.

Numerous non-native sharks have previously been captured in UK waters including last month’s 400lb mako shark caught by Andy Griffith off the Welsh coast along with a reported 140lb mako caught by 14-year-old Ben Healy off the Irish coast just two weeks ago.

Shark fishing expert David Turner believes it won’t be long before more of these bigger monsters are being captured: “Most anglers these days use tackle too light to handle a fish of this size but with the recent captures of big makos more and more anglers are equipping themselves with some serious big game gear in an attempt to come to terms with one of these killers.”

**SPECIES FACTFILE**
- Can grow up to 13ft long and over 400lb in weight
- Are known to be drawn to long line bait that is often intended for other species
- Habitat preferences tend to be off-shore, deep-ocean areas rather than close to the shoreline
- Famed oceanographic researcher Jacques Cousteau described the species as "the most dangerous of all sharks"
- The species was also involved in several attacks on tourists in the Red Sea near Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in 2010
- Currently labelled as an ‘critically endangered’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)


Adams Mill is back

The stretch of river that produced the current UK record barbel is set to return to its former glory thanks to a ground-breaking project that’s transformed the troubled venue.

Adams’ Mill, situated on the River Great Ouse in Bedfordshire, once dominated the big barbel scene as it produced no less than seven record fish - including Grahame King’s 21lb 1oz British best - until the small population of large fish was decimated by otters.

The stretch was largely deserted by anglers but there is now light at the end of the tunnel as an Environment Agency electrofishing operation revealed that large numbers of double-figure specimens to over 13lb are once again residing in the venue - a direct result of years of habitat improvement and re-stockings.

Not only have the barbel re-established themselves, but EA surveys have also revealed that the resident fish are now spawning successfully.

 “More and more people are beginning to discover that the glory days are well on their way back to this idyllic fishery,” said Trevor Johnson, chairman of Milton Keynes Angling Association, who control the stretch.

“The trouble with this venue was that there was a group of very big fish, but there were very few small fish coming through. The gravel areas at Adams’ Mill were so silted up the barbel couldn’t spawn or breed successfully.

“But the EA, along with help from local angling clubs, have invested over £10,000 into research, improvement work and re-stockings and the venue’s future is looking bright.”
Not only did the recent survey reveal large numbers of double figure barbel in Adams’ Mill, but they were also discovered in the adjoining stretch upstream near Wolverton.

“There’s no reason why these barbel can’t reach record proportions once again,” said Paul Wilkanowski, fisheries and biodiversity officer for the Environment Agency.

“This success is a direct result of years of regeneration work. We are going to continue to improve gravel beds and spawning grounds, plus we’ve already planted more tree along the banks of Adam’s Mill to give the resident fish plenty of cover.”

To find out more about fishing Adams’ Mill visit: www.mkaa.co.uk


513lb in five hours

The glut of mammoth weights taken from commercial fisheries hit new heights this week when a top match angler filled an astonishing 13 keepnets during a five hour event.

Preston Innovations ace Lee Kerry was competing in the Drennan Knockout Cup semi-final at Worcestershire’s Cob House Fisheries on the prolific Wyatts Lake and hauled out 513lb 13oz of carp to seal the win and smash the complex record.

In order to comply with the venue’s strict 50lb limit, he was forced to stake nets throughout his swim, severely restricting his options of where he could actually fish come the final whistle.

Incredibly, last placed Ian Didcote still caught an enormous 375lb and required eight keepnets.

Over 2,200lb was shared between the five competitors and Lee told Angling Times: “The managers supply all the nets and when they gave us 100 to share at the beginning I thought they were mad.

“I used caster shallow over groundbait in the margins and at one point I was catching a fish a minute. I enjoyed it and obliterated my previous best of 225lb, but I’m not sure I could face doing it again in the near future,” he added.

Runner up Michael Buchwalder placed 452lb 5oz on the scales and will now compete against Lee in the final at Docklow Pools later this year. “I’ve fished a few bagging waters during my career but this is by far the biggest stocking I’ve ever seen - I had 188 carp averaging over 3lb each,” he said.

“I probably spent half an hour putting nets in and working out where to put them! It was an incredible day and I don’ think I’ll ever experience anything like that again.”

Venue bosses have seen countless huge weights recorded in recent years and owner Helen Taylor insists that fish welfare is their top priority. She said: “With the calibre of anglers on show I felt a record was on the cards. Our net limits help keep the stocks in top condition and everybody involved commented on the great shape all the carp were in.”

 


Midnight switch pays for 36lb fish

A change of swims in the middle of the night paid off for Tom Rowlands who went on to land this stunning 36lb 12oz common from Baden Hall Fishery’s Quarry Pool, Staffs.

With the wind switching and starting to push in to a bay, the 28-year-old postman knew the fish would follow and with the area having a good track record of producing bites in the morning, he upped sticks and made sure he was in position.

“I’d baited a few spots earlier in the day just in case with a mixture of hemp and casters,” said the Stoke-on-Trent-based rod. “I had fish of 21lb and 10lb and then two minutes before I was due to pack up I received another take. Bizarrely, I had been talking about this fish earlier with the bailiff as it hadn’t been caught since last October so we knew it was due out. I couldn’t believe it therefore when, during the fight, I saw a distinctive missing scale on one of its flanks and realised what I was attached to.”

Tom tempted the impressive specimen with a bunch of 15 casters balanced with a small piece of cork and mounted on a size 8 Nash Fang Twister hook and a short supple braid hooklink. This was offered inside a solid PVA bag filled with casters alongside a 5oz drop-off inline lead.


Bag A 20lb Carp At Thorpe Lea

Thorpe Lea is arguably the best place in the country to bag your first 20lb carp – so we at Angling Times enlisted the help of two young anglers to do just that.
The Surrey venue, adjacent to the M25, was stocked with 2,500 carp 10 years ago and now boasts a huge head of upper doubles, 20s and even a few 30s. With so many inhabitants, locating fish is fairly easy, and on our midweek visit we saw plenty of carp within minutes of arriving.
The 18-acre lake, which has three islands, is currently a little weedier than normal but gravel and silt patches are still easy to find, and the carp will feed in most areas and at various depths.

With many youngsters using the summer holidays to go after big carp, we teamed up with 15-year-olds Max Rippington and Oli Passau to see if Thorpe Lea could improve their mid-double PBs.
Fake corn has been a constant winner at the venue and so it proved again, with both lads taking fish on fake kernels in PVA bags over spod mix. Max, whose previous best was 16lb, came agonisingly close to breaching the 20lb barrier with his first fish, but his 19lb 12oz mirror fell just short. Two hours later, however, and Thorpe Lea proved its credentials by providing Max with a 20lb 2oz mirror that put up a great scrap having been hooked while the teenager was spodding over the top of his spot.
Not to be outdone, Oli also came away with a new PB of 18lb 12oz as more than a dozen fish fell to our rods.

Thorpe Lea really can produce on all tactics, but small bright baits and PVA bags are a good starting point. Regular spodding will keep the action coming, but single baits fired out at range can score when the place is busy. Aside from the carp, specimen perch are definitely Thorpe Lea’s hidden gem.
<<Venue Factfile>>
Prices: £12 a day for adults (£9 for juniors). £24 for 24 hours. Each under 18 must be accompanied by an adult over 21.
Contact: 07934 000559 or www.thorpeleafishery.co.uk
Location: Thorpe Lea Fishery, Thorpe Lea Road, Thorpe, Egham, Surrey, TW20 8PG
Rules: No baitboats, braided mainline or unattended rods allowed. Barbed hooks only and the only particles allowed are hemp, corn/maize and pellets. Nets must be at least 36 inches and large unhooking mats must be used.
Facilities: Toilets, tackle shop and food hut. Local takeaways deliver to the gates.


New Lake Adds To Barston Choice

NEW LAKE ADDS TO BARSTON CHOICE
With a number of big matches featuring at the fishery in recent years, including Maver Match this and our very own Supercup Final this year, Barston continues to go from strength to strength, attracting thousands of anglers every month.
2013 has seen the opening of a new lake on the complex called Jakes. This intimate 10-peg water, a former stock pond contains tonnes of carp between 1-3lb and is ideal for those looking for a bite a chuck action with nets to 100lb. Varying tactics are succesful on here including the pellet waggler and pole in the margins. Be careful though as there is also the odd lump to 25lb in here.

The 25-acre, 124-peg Main Lake at Barston is fishing excellently at present, holding a nice bit of colour. Bream and skimmer nets to 40lb are commonplace with tonnes of fish in the 4-6oz bracket falling to small pellets or caster. Simply lay a small bed of micros down and fish over the top at mid-range. For the bigger slabs though we advise you to use bigger 8mm pellets or corn on either the feeder, Method or long pole by feeding heavy. Catching these 3-6lb fish can boost your net to over 100lb on a good day. For the carp, typical commercial tactics will work with the majority of fish in the 5-10lb bracket being caught in nets to 160lb. Paste in the margins is currently working well as is paste at 5m. If you opt for this tactic then fish it while feeding a few pellets over the top by hand or a tosspot.
If it is bigger carp you are after, including the odd fish to 30lb then this lake also contains them. There is a huge head of carp in the 15-24lb range and these can be targeted using bigger baits such as 18-22mm boilies.

TIP: If targeting the specimen carp, don’t feed any particle baits otherwise you will attract the bream. Instead just feed a small amount of whatever you are using on the hook.

Prices: £8.50 a day or £5.50 concessions, £12 a year night syndicate (requires day ticket per visit)
Contact: 01675 444890, www.barstonlakes.co.uk
Location: Barston Lakes, Marsh House Farm Lane, Barston, Solihull, West Midlands, B92 0LB
Rules: Barbless only, no mainline braid, no keepnets
Facilities: Restaurant, toilets, disabled pegs, hotel, bar


34lb common carp from Farriers Lake

This 34lb 4oz common was the highlight of Duncan Arrandale’s latest session on the Carp Society’s Farriers Lake.

Both of the 39-year-old’s rods were positioned over a clearing in the weed at 35 yards range over around a kilo of Mistral 20mm 4Season boilies.

He said: “From first light there was a lot of fizzing over the spot and after landing a couple of tench I finally got the pick-up I was hoping for.”

Duncan beat his prize with a size 6 Fox Arma Point SSSP hook attached to a Korda Mouthtrap and ACE Camo Core hinged-stiff rig.


Giant from a secret lake

A secret lake produced a 40-pounder apiece for two friends during a hectic few minutes.

Josh Hammersley and Ashley Irvine both banked the specimens at dawn on the previously untapped water.

Josh managed a 40lb common, a fish which his angling partner banked earlier in the summer at 41lb 7oz, while Ashley landed a 42lb 5oz mirror.

Bedfordshire rod Ashley told Angling Times: “The first bite on the secret lake this time was mine at 5.30am. It roared off and by the time I picked up the rod the fish had run about 40 yards up the margin.

“The fight was slow to start with and the fish came right back up the margin with no problems and I thought it was a small one, but when it came about two rod lengths out all hell broke loose.

“It made three long runs, taking about 30 yards each time, but finally I slipped the net under a big mirror. I still didn't realise what I had until she rolled on her side – the depth of her was unreal.”

Moments later Josh’s rod was away and a tense fight ensued in the weedy swim before the large common was secured.

“I looked over Josh’s shoulder and looked in the net,” said Ashley, “I had to look twice but it was the 41lb 7oz common that I had two months earlier.”

“I said to him ‘it’s the big common’ and I think he was in a state disbelief as he knew he had smashed his personal best!”



Match-style bait scores for James Mann

Adopting a match angler style baiting approach has paid off in style for James Mann on the Essex Manor with a string of recent captures topped by a 38lb mirror and a 40lb common.

The Fox-backed locksmith found the key to success has been to bait multiple spots in certain swims and keep an eye on each area during his midweek sessions.

The 36-year-old told Angling Times: “I pass the venue on the way to work on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday so I walk round and bait up, then generally fish from late on Wednesday evening until Friday.

“I put in 20kg of Mainline Hybrid boilies each week, and start each session with 3kg of the bait.

“I’ll bait a number of spots in each swim, a bit like a match fisherman has a margin line and a far-out line, and I’ll watch them during the session to see if I can see signs of feeding fish.”

In recent weeks James has banked two 30s, a 40lb 4oz common and half a dozen 20s.
He said: “The 38lb mirror and the 40lb common came from the same swim, fishing to the far margin.

“The mirror came at 4am from an area in about 6ft of water that’s become a feeding spot as I’ve regularly introduced bait to it. It’s a fish known as the Anchor and I instantly recognised it as it came in close – I’ve had it before at 43lb 8oz so it was a bit spawned out.”

The big common, known as the Bream Common, arrived during a subsequent session and was James’s last remaining target fish from the venue, having bagged all the other big commons in Manor.

He said: “That take came at about 8.30pm on my left-hand rod close to some pads and I knew instantly it was a decent fish as it just sat there and didn’t want to do anything.
“I said to my mate that I thought it was a good one and as it swam out in front of us I saw a big set of shoulders and I knew which fish it was. It was the last one I wanted to catch and really made my session.”

All James’s fish fell to naked chod setups using components from the Fox Edges range to combat the heavy weed growth. Hookbaits were Mainline Pineapple pop-ups with added n-butyric acid.

 


13lb Thames barbel falls for bait 'on the drift'

This 13lb 8oz barbel was the highlight of two short evening sessions on a tributary of the Thames for Adrian Eves.

Switching his attentions away from eel fishing during a recent mild spell, the Farnham-based all-rounder presented a trimmed down boilie wrapped in paste on a gravel bed in the middle of the river.

The Dynamite Baits and Fox man primed the spot with several bait droppers full of garlic hemp and mixed Dynamite Krill and Swim Stim pellets on a straight lead rig, incorporating a 10ins, 15lb Fox Camotex coated braid hooklink and a size 10 Kuro S2 hook.

“I’ve started to attach my PVA bag to the lead rather than the hook, so the free bait drifts down to the hookbait and it seems to be working. On the first night I had a 7lb fish but the river was in better condition the next day, when I had two bites, landing an 8lb 4oz barbel and then the double,” he said.


Monster cats are prowling in the Trent

Think of a river synonymous with catfish and the mighty Ebro in Spain will most likely be the first that springs to mind.

But Angling Times can this week reveal that a growing number of anglers are now targeting, and doing battle with, one of the world’s hardest fighting freshwater species on the River Trent.

The growing population of the predators throughout the Nottinghamshire waterway has for a long time been a closely guarded secret among local anglers, but catches are now being increasingly reported from Newark, Long Higgin and many of the tidal reaches.
In the last few weeks both tackle shops and venue regulars have seen an upsurge in the number of catch pictures, videos and posts on social network sites proving the capture of fish up to 40lb.

But many believe that there are much bigger predators lurking in the depths and the recent reports of huge catfish being washed up on the banks of the River Thames prove that this isn’t a phenomenon exclusive to the Trent.

Alan Dudhill, general secretary of the Pike Angling Club of Great Britain, is one of the dedicated few that has set his stall out for catching the UK’s running water catfish.
“There are people out there that are saying that we are mad, but I have customers who have caught fish over 30lb from the tidal reaches. The sheer numbers that are now being reported make them a viable target if you know where to find them,” Alan told Angling Times.

Stories of catfish being caught from the iconic river go back more than 30 years, however, Tim Aplin, owner of Matchman Supplies tackle shop in Nottingham, has seen the whispers and rumours develop turn into cold, hard evidence.

“The cats have always been talked about in the shop, but I’ve now had pictures and video footage brought in of guys that have landed them from the Trent,” said Tim.
“I know that anglers have been fishing for them at Long Higgin and someone lost a very big fish there earlier this month. I’ve also seen the pictures of a 30lb-plus fish that was caught from the boat moorings at Newark,” he added.

Trent legend Bob Roberts has done battle with a huge specimen while float fishing for barbel on the tidal reaches of the river and is adamant that the catfish are breeding successfully.

He said: “I had a massive catfish on for three hours. It took me almost a mile upstream and I’d almost got it to the net everything went slack and I reeled in a 4lb barbel that it had obviously grabbed hold of.

“There are also small cats being caught in the river, which shows they are breeding. I’m confident that most of the larger river systems in the UK now hold a population of the species.”

 

 

Leading fisheries management consultant Dr Bruno Broughton believes that catfish are more widespread in British rivers than most anglers would acknowledge:
"It’s only in the last few years that the extent of catfish colonisation of rivers has become apparent. This is mainly a consequence of severe flooding of adjacent lakes holding the species and, I suspect, some illegal introductions as well.
"The largest rod-caught, river catfish of which I am aware is in excess of 120lbs from the Thames, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if much larger fish are, or soon will be, present elsewhere.
"Their numbers are likely to increase by natural means because catfish are good parents - they guard their eggs and protect the newly-hatched fry - and they appear to have no problem spawning successfully in many British waters.”

 

 

**UK river catfish**
- In 2001, junior angler Oliver Parker-Grater banked a 40lb catfish from Kent’s River Darent.
- Reports of a dead body in the River Thames were dismissed earlier this year after officials attended the scene to find it was actually a huge catfish of over 50lb.
- The Great Ouse received a stocking of catfish several decades ago and specimens to over 40lb have been landed since the move.
- Catfish up to 20lb have also been landed and even bigger fish lost in recent years by match anglers fishing the Yorkshire Ouse.